In May this year, Chancellor George Osborne outlined plans to cut more than £6bn of what he calls ‘‘wasteful’‘ spending in a bid to reduce the nations staggering £156bn budget deficit.

As part of the cuts the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) will see £836m removed from its budget. The savings represent 3.9% of the department’s total budget and are part of the wider £6 billion in savings across Government.

The BIS website reports the following:

BIS is protecting spending on Research, Innovation, Business and Enterprise and student numbers in Higher Education, which will see an increase of 10,000 places.
Instead, the savings will be delivered by through specific efficiencies, such as RDA funding and programmes like SBRI and the SME Adjudicator, and refocusing Train to Gain funding into new apprenticeships and investment in FE.

To reach its £836 million of in year savings Ministers have agreed the following savings:

• £100 million in efficiency savings across the department and its partner organisations
• £233 million UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) project for a new biomedical research facility to be located in Central London – the investment will now not be brought forward this year but spread over five years
• £ 74 million will be cut from the Regional Development Agencies – the total cut is £270 million shared between CLG, DECC, DEFRA and BIS
• £200 million in efficiencies from the Higher Education budget
• £200 million by refocusing the Train to Gain budget on apprenticeships and college buildings
• £18 million including funding for the Institute of Web Science, a proposal which is still under development, and low priority projects like the SME Adjudicator.
• £11 million from the UK vocational reform budget
• £20 million of additional investment in SBRI announced in the Budget, delivering a saving of £10 million this year, although the programme will continue to be supported by the Government.

It is not easy to get government (grant/loan) funding, and even more so in the current climate. However, there are genuine opportunities available across the UK and for those who persevere. Whilst RDA’s (Regional Development Agencies) are on a countdown to closure in 2012, not all have allocated their grant funding budget or closed for new applications.

However, it is vital to note that competition for funds is higher than ever and the analysis and evaluation of applications has become even more demanding. The government agencies involved make no apology for this challenging process. This is put in place to test the need the applicant has for funding.

What must always be remembered is that they exist to distribute their funds (as grants or loans) and are actively on the look out for sound projects and sutainable SME’s to invest in.

The core business of Going For Grants is to advise and help its clients identify and source grant and loan funding for just such projects, businesses and organisations.

We look forward to your enquiry.

_{T Bathgate
Director,Going For Grants}